Asset
by LadyWallace
Summary: 13x12 AU Lucifer escapes Asmodeus but leaves Castiel behind as a decoy. Obviously the Prince of Hell is not happy when he comes back and finds the devil missing and decides Castiel is the one who will give him answers whether he has them or not. Cas whump.


**This is for kitsune911 who requested Asmodeus, and Cas getting whumped ;)**

 **This is an AU set between 13x12 and 13x13.**

Asset

A Supernatural Fanfic

It was a swift fight as soon as they got out of the cells. It didn't take long to overpower the guard with both of them working—more or less, and against Castiel's better judgment—together. Lucifer was still handy with a blade at least, and Castiel was quick to smite the demon as soon as he got his hands on him.

Unfortunately, the ruckus had already alerted the rest of the guards, and it would only be a second before they were set upon.

"We need to go," Castiel said.

"Yeah, about that," Lucifer said with a shrug. "See, Cas, I don't really need you anymore. I already know where Sam and Dean are, and they're the ones who are gonna help me find my son or suffer the consequences…having you out of the way will only make it easier to endear myself to my son."

Castiel gave him an incredulous look. "You think you can get out of here without me?"

Lucifer smirked and waved the angel blade he had stolen from the guard. "Hey, I _was_ gonna steal your grace, but I think you'll actually help me more playing chew toy to the demons. So be a good little decoy for me. Have fun with that!"

"Lucifer!" Castiel shouted as the archangel turned and ran off just as the demons converged into the cellblock. Castiel looked around for a weapon but found none. He thought about running as well but with five demons on his tail he wouldn't get far. He growled, trying to summon what power he had to try and maybe take a couple demons down to give himself a chance. If he could get one of their blades…

"Get him!" One of the demons snarled. "Carter, call in more guards to go after Lucifer! We cannot afford to lose him!"

Castiel leapt forward at that moment and raised a palm to smite the nearest demon. He took that one down, but another two were already on him, gripping his arms tightly and shoving him face first against a wall. Castiel fought, but the prick of a blade between his shoulder blades stopped him for a moment.

"You're not going anywhere, little birdy," one of the demons hissed into his ear. "Lord Asmodeus is gonna want to talk to you."

He felt cuffs snapped around his wrists and gave a longsuffering sigh as he was hauled further down the cellblock. "I'm sure he will," he muttered.

His guard shoved him none-too-gently forward, chuckling. "Oh, you don't know half of what he's capable of. Asmodeus may not have touched you yet, but mark my words, he's gonna be pissed when he comes back and finds Lucifer gone. And you, well, you're gonna be the one he takes his rage out on."

"Or maybe it will be you," Castiel said. "After all, it was you and the other guards who let us get out in the first place."

He was slammed against the bars of a cell and the angel blade slashed him across the cheek, but it was a small price to pay to see the nerve he had hit.

"We'll see about that. I'll enjoy hearing your screams as you beg for mercy."

"As will I," Castiel retorted.

The demon sneered and opened the cell he had shoved Castiel against. Two more demons gave the angel a good push, kicking the backs of his knees as they did, so that he tumbled to the ground, unable to catch himself with his hands manacled behind him. Castiel grunted as he twisted around when the demons slammed the door shut. This cell's warding hadn't been compromised, and he felt it blanket the area. Escape would be impossible now, especially with the Enochian cuffs binding his grace.

"See you soon, sweetheart," one of the demons leered as they left the cell.

Castiel grunted as he pulled himself upright to sit on the bench in the cell. He was worried about Lucifer being free. He knew the fallen archangel's first stop would be the bunker, and only hoped that the warding would hold and Sam and Dean wouldn't be caught off guard. Maybe they weren't even there. They might be working a hunt or looking for a way to get to the apocalypse world. Castiel was furious that he had no way to warn them that Lucifer was even back. Though his powers were diminished greatly. Perhaps Lucifer would look for more angels to cannibalize first. Even if he did show up at the bunker in this state, he would be a lot easier to deal with, and Castiel had to have faith that Sam and Dean would be able to take care of him.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there but it seemed like an eternity before he heard footsteps coming down the hallway, accompanied by a loud, angry voice that he knew to be Asmodeus.

"I give you one simple task, and yet you still fail!" the Prince of Hell was raging.

"My lord," came a flustered demon. "He broke his warding, we tried to send others after him but he flew away before we could catch up."

"That's besides the point. He never should have gotten out of the cell to begin with."

"We still have Castiel, my lord. We were able to apprehend him," another demon spoke up.

"The Winchester's pet angel isn't worth nearly as much to me as an archangel, especially Lucifer. However…" They had finally stopped in front of Castiel's cell and the angel looked up to see Asmodeus' scarred face staring intently in at him. "He may know where Lucifer has gone."

Castiel chose to stay silent as Asmodeus nodded to the demon guards and they opened the door and strode inside to haul Castiel to his feet. The angel didn't say anything, just kept his eyes open for any chance to escape, as he was hauled from the cell block and led to another part of the building.

This was Crowley's old throne room, with the gaudy chair on the dais at one end of the room. Asmodeus stood in front of it now as the demons held onto Castiel.

"So, Castiel," Asmodeus said slowly. "Let me ask you a question. Do you have any idea where Lucifer might have gone?"

Castiel snorted slightly. "I don't actually care where Lucifer went. He didn't exactly tell me his plans, he sort of left me here."

"But give me your best guess anyway?" Asmodeus said, stalking forward.

Castiel shrugged. "Who knows what Lucifer does?"

Asmodeus was dangerously close now, looming. Castiel straightened his shoulders. "Or," the demon prince said in a dangerous voice. "Is it maybe because you think he's gone after the Winchesters? Or after his son?"

Castiel stayed silent. Asmodeus smirked. "That's what I thought."

The blow came so swiftly Castiel didn't have time to brace. The demon's fist slammed into the side of his head and it was only the demons holding him that kept him from falling. He could taste blood from his cut cheek as he craned his head around to look at Asmodeus again.

"I'll get the information out of you one way or another, boy," Asmodeus said darkly, reaching down to grip Castiel's chin and jerk his head up roughly. "And believe me, I can be very creative."

Castiel felt a pit well in his stomach, but no matter what Asmodeus did to him he just hoped Sam and Dean would be okay.

* * *

 _Sam walked back into the library_ with two fresh cups of coffee just as Dean sighed and threw another book into the growing pile in the center of the table, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose.

"Still nothing?" Sam asked as he set one of the cups down in front of his brother.

"Ugh, you know for once in our lives I would love to actually know what we're looking for instead of some vague idea of it. It might be easier to find something."

Sam huffed. "Yeah, that would be nice. I mean, there's a ton of books on alternate dimensions but all the ones I've found seem to be more theoretical."

"I guess it was a little too much even for the Men of Letters," Dean muttered as he took a long drink of the coffee and reached for the next book.

Sam was about to retake his place at the table when there was a knock on the front door of the bunker.

Sam frowned and set his coffee down, glancing toward the war room. "Huh, I wonder who that could be?"

Dean snorted. "It's probably Cas. Maybe he lost his key or something."

"I thought he was in California last you talked to him," Sam replied as he left the library and crossed the war room to the stairs.

Despite the fact that Dean was probably right and it was just Cas or one of their allies, he pulled the pistol from the back of his jeans as he reached out to open the door.

It wasn't Cas.

"Hey Sam."

Sam reeled back instinctively, then tried to lurch forward to slam the door shut. But Lucifer was ready for that, planting a hand against the doorframe and inserting himself so that he could slip through.

"Now, that's not very nice. Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Dean!" Sam called as Lucifer managed to get all the way through, Sam raised his gun, knowing it would do nothing, but it made him feel a little better. Even then, Lucifer simply slapped it aside and grabbed Sam by the throat.

"What the hell?" Dean demanded as he hurried into the war room and caught sight of their houseguest. Lucifer was maneuvering Sam down the stairs, using him as a human shield.

"Ah-ah, put the gun down, Dean, you don't want to accidently shoot baby brother, do you?"

"How the hell are you here?" Dean demanded, lowering the gun slightly, but ready if he was given the opportunity. "We left your ass in apocalypse world."

"Yeah, you did—I'm kinda pissed about that," Lucifer said as he finally reached the bottom of the stairs. He tightened his grip around Sam's throat and the hunter choked, scratching at the archangel's hands as his vision began to darken. "But as you can see, I got out, and now I'm looking for my son. Last I heard, you'd gotten custody."

"Yeah, well, he's not here, so you can get the hell out," Dean said.

"Oh, Dean, I'm not leaving without my son," Lucifer said simply and then threw Sam across the room. He slammed into the control console hard, and lay there on the ground a moment to recover his breath as he heard Dean take several shots before there was the clatter of a gun and the whump of a body punch. Dean cried out and Sam looked up to see him skidding along the floor to land a few feet from him.

"So, here's the thing," Lucifer said, stalking over to them. "You can either tell me where he is, or, we can do this the fun way—fun for me, not for you."

"Jack isn't going anywhere with you," Sam snarled, pushing himself upright as Dean reached for his angel blade.

"I'm his dad, I have more right than you two mud-monkeys!" Lucifer cried. "Who's gonna teach him how to use his powers?"

Sam caught Dean's eye, showing him the pocketknife he'd pulled out and Dean nodded, getting ready.

Dean lurched upright, angel blade in hand as he lunged at Lucifer. The archangel only barely dodged a stab straight to the heart, but Dean still managed to pierce his side.

Lucifer cried out as his shirt darkened with blood and he clapped a hand to his side. "Ow! Okay you know what?" He backhanded Dean and the elder Winchester was flung to the floor. Lucifer kicked him for good measure, and Sam instantly set the work, digging the blade of his pocketknife into his palm. He waited until enough blood welled up and then hurriedly started sketching the sigil onto the floor, all the time wincing at the blows Dean was taking.

A chocking sound was heard and Sam glanced up to see Dean dangling several inches above the ground, Lucifer's hand around his throat.

"I'll make this easy for you," Lucifer said, glancing toward Sam. "Tell me where my son is, or I crush your brother's throat."

"Oh, I'll tell you," Sam said. "But first, enjoy the trip."

Lucifer saw what he was doing too late. He threw Dean aside and started toward Sam but the younger hunter had already slammed his hand onto the sigil. There was a flash of light and an angry scream and then Lucifer was gone.

Sam took a shaky breath and forced himself to his feet, hurrying over to Dean who was groaning as he rolled onto his back.

"Dean, are you alright?" Sam asked, helping him into a sitting position, checking him for injuries.

Dean's hand was on his throat, breathing heavily. "I'll live," he said roughly.

Sam helped him to his feet. "What the hell, man?" Dean demanded. "How did he get out of the alternate world? _When_ did he get out?"

"I don't know," Sam said. "But I do know that we cannot let him find out where Jack is. If Lucifer tries to open a gate there, we have no idea what he'll let out."

Dean shook his head. "Well, we've got a little bit of time before he comes sniffing around again. In the meantime, we should beef up the warding just in case. And call Cas, warn him that Lucifer's back."

Sam nodded and instantly went to put up some more sigils as Dean pulled out his phone.

By the time he got back, he could hear Dean's frustrated voice as he paced the war room.

"Come on, man, pick up!"

Sam frowned. "You can't get ahold of Cas?" he asked worriedly.

Dean shook his head. "No."

"We did just talk to him yesterday," Sam offered, but it fell flat even in his own mind.

Dean tapped his phone against his hand. "Sam, track Cas' GPS."

"Why?"

"I just…I gotta weird feeling."

Sam instantly went to do just that, and frowned as the coordinates revealed themselves. "Um, okay, didn't Cas say he was in California yesterday when we talked to him?" he asked.

Dean joined him back in the library. "Yeah, why?"

"Because he's on the East Coast now," Sam said, "At…." He looked closer, frowning. "Hold on, does this look familiar to you?"

Dean grabbed Sam's tablet and looked for himself. "Holy crap," he muttered. "That's Crowley's old hideout. What the hell is Cas doing there?"

A sudden thought came to Sam and made him feel sick to his stomach. "Dean, what if Asmodeus took over Crowley's old place when he took over his position?"

Dean paled a shade and threw Sam's tablet down, hurrying over to grab his coat off the back of a chair. "Grab your crap, let's go."

Sam didn't argue. He ran to grab his backpack and weapons and soon he and Dean were on the road. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he was sure of two things. Cas was in danger, and they were going to get him out of it.

* * *

 _Castiel bit back another scream_ as his own angel blade carved a furrow across his chest. Asmodeus gripped his chin tightly and leaned in close.

"You finally ready to tell me what I want to know, boy?" he demanded.

Castiel breathed heavily through his nose, though it was a little impeded by the blood that dripped from it due to his beating. He had been chained by his wrists and ankles to a pillar in the throne room, hands over his head and stripped to the waist. Asmodeus had spent no time pulling out Castiel's own angel blade and using it to try and get him to tell the demon what he wanted to know.

"If you think a little torture is going to make me talk, you're wrong," Castiel ground out. "You're certainly not the first one who has tried that."

Asmodeus sneered and slowly stabbed the blade through the meat of Castiel's right shoulder. The angel couldn't help but scream this time, his grace ripping a little from the torments, but unable to start healing him as it was locked tight with the sigiled cuffs.

"Oh, I'm just getting started here, son. If this doesn't interest you, I'd be glad to try something else."

Castiel sagged slightly as Asmodeus stepped back, lowering the blade. He glowered at the demon prince. "Do your worst. I will never give up the Winchesters and Jack."

"Then I guess we're going to be here a long time," Asmodeus said, but with a gleam in his eye that told Castiel the demon was up for the challenge and would enjoy it probably too much. His stomach twisted, not looking forward to what was to come. Despite his bravado, he was sure that the Prince of Hell could get…creative.

The blade slashed across his stomach with another glint of grace. He caught sight of Asmodeus watching the flash of angelic essence intently, almost as if…hungry for it. Castiel shivered inwardly. He didn't know what to make of that, but he didn't like it either.

But the Prince of Hell stepped back, and handed the angel blade to one of the demon guards who had gathered around, enjoying the show. "Have some fun, break him down a little. Tell me if he talks, but don't kill him."

"Yes, my lord," the demons said and eagerly stepped forward. One of them with the blade and the other pulling out a pair of Enochian brass knuckles like the ones Dean had taken from the British Men of Letters.

Castiel frowned, wondering where they could have gotten a pair of those, before the sigiled brass knuckles slammed into his cheekbone and the whole side of his face went numb. That hit was soon followed by a succession of several more, one particularly heavy one succeeding in audibly cracking a couple ribs.

Castiel cried out and slumped in his chains, the pain surging through him and making his knees weak.

The demon with the blade gripped a handful of his hair and wrenched his head back. "You feeling eager to talk yet?" he sneered, sliding the blade down Castiel's jawline, tracing over the pulse in his throat.

Castiel swallowed hard, feeling blood sliding down the back of his throat from his bleeding nose. "You're going to have to try harder."

"Well, challenge excepted," the demon leered and traced the blade down his chest and to one side before slowly boring it into the flesh right above his hipbone.

Castiel's eyes squeezed shut as he screamed in agony, and wondered how he was going to escape this at all.

* * *

 _It took longer than Dean wanted_ to leave Cas at the mercy of that southern fried douchebag to get to Crowley's old hideout, but once they did, he parked the Impala in a hidden place down the road from the old abandoned asylum to keep it our of sight. Then he and Sam grabbed their weapons and crept forward, scouting out to see if there were any guards.

"Got one," Sam said, nodding to the left and when Dean looked, he saw a man standing at one corner of the building.

"Got another," he replied as he saw a second demon at the opposite side. He would place a bet that there were more around the building, and no telling how many inside, including Asmodeus himself. Dean set his jaw. He didn't want to admit it, but they were way outnumbered and outgunned.

"So how do we do this?" Sam asked.

Dean exhaled slowly. "Hell if I know. Who knows what kind of precautions Asmodeus has added since he moved in." He cocked an eyebrow. "Grenade launcher?"

Sam shot him a bitch face. "Dean, Cas is in there too."

"I know," Dean muttered. Not that a grenade launcher would do much for Asmodeus. If only they had been able to repair the Colt…

"You think Asmodeus is in there?" Sam asked, voicing his own thoughts.

"You know he is," Dean muttered.

Sam bit his lip as he scanned the landscape. "Hey, maybe we can get him out."

"How?" Dean asked.

Sam pulled out his phone and waggled it in explanation. "Let's see if he's still willing to play along."

Understanding dawned on Dean and he nodded. "Do it."

* * *

 _Castiel slumped against the pillar_. He was still chained, but he had been allowed enough slack to sit down. Not that it mattered much the position he was able to be in, his body still ached horribly, some pains dull, others sharp with the ability to take his breath away if he moved wrong. He was also still bleeding sluggishly from several stab wounds that had been inflicted upon him. Without the ability to heal, his body was suffering the effects from the blood loss like a human would.

Footsteps were heard walking in a businesslike manner down the hallway and Castiel looked up weakly to see Asmodeus striding into the throne room. He smiled darkly when he turned toward Castiel and strode over to him, a box in his hands, which he set on the table beside Castiel that held the instruments of his torment.

"Well, now, son, how are you feeling this fine morning?" Asmodeus asked him mockingly. "You ready to talk yet?"

Castiel's only reply was to tilt his head back in a longsuffering manner. Asmodeus growled low in his throat, but he didn't look entirely upset either.

"Very well, then," he said and turned to open the box. From his position, Castiel couldn't see what was in it before Asmodeus pulled it out and then he wasn't even entirely sure what it was.

It looked like a syringe with a glass bottle attached but Castiel wasn't sure what it was for, though he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

Asmodeus smirked a little as he watched his expression. "I know your grace is not what it once was," he said. "I can sense how much weaker you are than normal angels. Therefor, I can imagine you want to keep what little grace you have left."

Castiel's stomach twisted, finally realizing the significance of the object. It was a grace extractor.

"So, if I were you," Asmodeus continued, crouching down in front of Castiel, holding the syringe up in front of him. "I would start talking."

Castiel swallowed hard. He didn't want to experience this, knew just how agonizing it would be, and without any of his grace, his wounds…well, they would likely prove fatal without any medical attention coming in the near future.

But on the other hand, he could not give up Sam and Dean's location. Asmodeus would kill them, and kidnap Jack, if the Winchesters had succeeded in finding the boy at all, likely torment Castiel to get Jack to bend to the Prince of Hell's will. No, Castiel couldn't let that happen. Especially when the Winchesters were already probably busy dealing with Lucifer.

He turned back to meet Asmodeus' eyes. "No."

The demon shook his head. "Suit yourself." He gripped a handful of Castiel's hair and yanked his head to one side, exposing his throat. Castiel closed his eyes as he felt the tip of the large syringe bore into his neck, but before Asmodeus could go on, a ringing sounded out.

Asmodeus paused, looking annoyed, and then stood with a growl, taking the syringe with him and striding over to a table where Castiel's own phone sat. The demon picked it up and to Castiel's horror, Asmodeus answered it in his own voice.

"Hello, Sam," Asmodeus said, and turned a glare to Castiel, putting a finger warningly to his lips. "I'm a little busy right now."

Castiel couldn't quite hear Sam's voice over the phone, but from the look in Asmodeus' eyes, the hunter must have been saying something he wanted to hear, and that thought made Castiel sick as there was only one thing Asmodeus would react to like that. Sam and Dean must have found Jack.

"Of course, I'll meet you there right away." Asmodeus ended the call and turned back around to Castiel with a smirk.

"It's your lucky day, boy. Turns out your pals have found the nephillim and want the support of their angel to take him back home. I can't wait to see their faces when I show up."

"Asmodeus," Castiel said warningly, tugging on his chains, though knew there was nothing he could do.

The demon smirked. "Oh, don't worry, you'll get to see them again. I might need them to persuade young Jack to do what I need him to." He called several of his demons into the room. "Come on boys, we're going to go catch ourselves some Winchesters and a nephillim." His body shimmered then and he suddenly took Castiel's own form. The angel yanked at his chains again, but it was no use. Asmodeus sent him a smirk with his own lips before his waltzed out of the throne room with his demon lackeys in tow.

Castiel was left without any guards, and he used the chance to start working at his chains, seeing if there was any weakness in them, but he really only succeeded in chafing his wrists to bleeding.

He slumped back against the pillar wearily, desperation coursing through him. This would probably be the last chance he would get to escape. If he could at least get to his phone to warn the Winchesters that Asmodeus was coming for them…

He was startled out of his despairing thoughts as sounds of fighting filtered into the throne room. He could hear demons shouting, and then screams and cries of pain. He sat watching the door warily as the sounds got closer, not sure what was about to burst through. If it were another enemy, perhaps Lucifer, coming back to get him, then he would be completely at their mercy.

However, once the door slammed open, it was not Lucifer who burst through, but Dean Winchester, gun in one hand, bloody angel blade in the other. His head whipped around, searching for enemies.

"Dean," Cas called in relief, slumping in his chains.

Dean's eyes finally fell on him and widened. He put his gun away and called over his shoulder, "Sam, in here!" then he rushed forward and knelt next to Castiel.

"Cas! Dammit, hold on, I'm gonna get you out of here."

Sam hurried into the room then, putting his demon knife back into his belt as he practically ran over to Castiel and Dean.

"Cas, oh god, are you all right?"

Castiel grunted, but was mainly just glad to see his friends again. "I've been better."

Dean was on his feet, searching for a key to the cuffs and finally gave up and just began to pick them. Castiel groaned as his wrists were freed and they lay limply in his lap as Dean started in on his ankles. Once those were released, he could feel his grace sluggishly begin to surface again, but knew this would not be a quick healing. Not since all his wounds were made by angel blades and those damned Enochian brass knuckles.

"Can you stand?" Dean asked as he and Sam were already pulling Castiel to his feet. "Damn, they really did a number on you."

"Yeah," Castiel replied wryly. "They did. But I don't understand. Asmodeus…"

"We sent evil Colonel Sanders on a wild goose chase," Dean told him, settling Castiel's arm firmly around his shoulders to help support him. "And we should probably be going before he realizes that."

Sam grabbed Castiel's phone and clothes from a nearby table and the three of them left the room.

"And Jack?" Castiel said, reluctantly. "You didn't really find him?"

"No, that was just a ruse," Sam told him. "Sorry."

"But all this time…"

Sam and Dean glanced at each other. "What do you mean?"

"All the time I've been here," Cas stated to clarify, all the talking making him even more tired.

"Cas you've only been here for two or three days," Sam said. "We only knew you were captured because we tried to get ahold of you after Lucifer showed up at the bunker."

"Yeah, he's back," Dean said grimly.

Castiel made an exasperated sound. "Yes, I know. Lucifer and I were captured together. Weeks ago."

They'd made it outside by then and Dean and Sam both stopped to look at him.

"Wait, what?" Dean demanded.

Sam held up a hand then. "Okay, we can talk later, just go get the car before Asmodeus comes back."

Dean shook his head, a mixture of emotions on his face as he let Sam take Castiel's weight and hurried off down the road. Castiel sank gratefully against Sam's side as he heard the sound of the Impala's engine. He really just wanted to get back to the bunker.

Once Dean pulled the car around, Sam led Castiel to the back seat and helped him inside. Dean was out and rummaging around for the first aid kit in the trunk and handed it to Sam who then slid into the back beside Castiel.

"You gonna make it back to the bunker or do you want to stop somewhere?" Dean asked.

Castiel slumped against the seat. "I'll be fine. I just want to go home."

Dean nodded and slid back behind the driver's seat, tearing off down the road as Sam began to sort through the first aid kit and turned to tend Castiel's injuries.

"So, Cas, what the hell did you say? You were there for weeks?" Dean demanded. "We talked to you on the phone, man."

Castiel hissed as Sam prodded a wound and then apologized. "No, that—that must have been Asmodeus impersonating me. He had my phone. When I went to ask the angels if they had seen Jack, Lucifer showed up out of the blue, he'd somehow escaped from the apocalypse world when Michael opened a door but it wasn't enough for them all to get through. He tried to convince me to help him find Jack, but while we were talking at a bar, Asmodeus showed up and took us both captive."

Dean glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide.

"Hold on," Sam cut in. "So when you called us from that bar, you were with Lucifer?"

"Yes," Castiel said wearily.

"And you've been with Asmodeus this whole time?" Dean demanded.

"Yes."

"Son of a bitch," Dean growled, slamming his hands on the steering wheel. "I _knew_ something was wrong! Has he been torturing you this whole time?"

"No, he mostly left me alone, it was only because Lucifer escaped that he decided to try to get his location out of me."

"Well, you look like crap, man," Dean shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cas. I can't believe we didn't know it wasn't you."

"It's not your fault, you had other things on your plate," Castiel said quietly.

"That's no excuse," Dean growled.

They were all silent then as Sam continued to tend to Castiel. Then finally the angel asked the question he had been avoiding. "So…you still haven't found Jack?"

Sam swallowed hard. "We—we did find him. But…Cas, he got lost in the apocalypse world."

Castiel whipped his head around to face the younger hunter. "He _what?!"_

Sam shook his head. "We found this dreamwalker, and she was helping us to open a gateway to go find mom, but the angels were attacking us, and, well, long story short, Dean and I ended up in another alternate world with…monsters and all kinds of crap, and Jack ended up in the apocalypse world."

Castiel closed his eyes. "And now?"

"And now we're looking for another way to open a gate," Dean told him gruffly.

Sam paused in his wound tending to put a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "We will find him, Cas."

Castiel just lay back against the seat, suddenly even more weary than he already had been. He may have finally gotten free of Asmodeus, but knowing that Jack was not just running away anymore, but physically out of their reach just made everything more difficult once again. Who knew what Michael and the other angels in that world would do to a young nephillim who had little to no idea how to use his powers.

It was a long drive back to the bunker and Castiel slept for most of it to allow his grace to better heal his body. He only woke when they came to a stop in the garage, and he came to groggily, seeing himself alone in the backseat, covered by his coat, and Sam behind the wheel, obviously spelling Dean.

He pushed himself upright, wincing as his body protested. He could tell that his wounds had healed for the most part, at least they had all scabbed over, and his broken ribs were only bruised, but he would probably need a couple more days resting up.

"Whoa, easy," Dean said as he came around and opened the door, leaning in to help Castiel out of the car, slinging his arm over his shoulders. "Lets get you in bed."

Castiel didn't even protest and just allowed the elder Winchester to lead him down the stairs and into the bunker.

Once they reached Castiel's room, he thought he had never been so glad to see a bed, especially his own. He sank gratefully onto it, Dean's hand still on his shoulder.

"You gonna be okay?" Dean asked him, glancing over Castiel's wounds, checking bandages.

"I'll be fine," Castiel said with a sigh. "Just need some rest."

"Cas…" Dean started and then shook his head. "Man, I'm sorry."

"Dean we've already established it wasn't your fault and you were busy looking for Jack."

"Still, I _knew_ something was wrong when we only found demons at that bar. I should have known that something had happened to you. We should have looked into it more." He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. "I could have lost you again, man."

Castiel softened slightly and reached out to grip Dean's wrist. "But you didn't. I can take care of myself."

"We all can," Dean said wryly. "That hasn't stopped us from dying before, and right now, I can't deal with losing you again, and I can't deal with losing anyone else. Not when Mom and Jack are god knows where and we have no way to get to them."

"We will find a way, Dean," Castiel told him. "Together. Remember?"

Dean gave a small smile. "Team Free Will, that's right."

Castiel nodded and then grunted slightly as he lay down in the bed, too weary to stay upright anymore. "I think we could all use a few hours of rest to clear out heads though. Tomorrow we will reconvene and work on finding a better way to get into the apocalypse world."

Dean nodded firmly and pulled a blanket from the end of the bed, settling it over Castiel before clapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Sounds good. In the meantime, get better, Cas. Glad to have you back."

Castiel closed his eyes and sighed as he felt his body relax against the soft mattress. "I'm glad to be back," he replied to Dean's back as the elder Winchester made his way out the door.

He drifted off with the surety that they would find their missing family and bring them home. No matter the cost.


End file.
